Fair Territory
by Standing at Start
Summary: Dramaverse. 9 years after graduating, Hiyama runs into his old best friend. Hiyama/Wakana Shounen-ai
1. Chapter 1

Hello, thank you for checking out my story. Though I must first apologize because I am by no means a writer. So if it's a little odd to read, I'm sorry. Also, I write extremely slowly so this won't be updated very often, if at all… But I hope you like it anyways.

The sun was setting as Hiyama walked home from work, making the summer heat a little more bearable. There used to be a time that he hated humid days like these, preferring instead the subtle chill of autumn. But now they only brought back memories of his days in high school. The time 9 years ago when life consisted of endless practice in the glaring sun with his friends and one common dream; Koshien. Just remembering those times was enough to bring a small smile to his face as he entered a convenience store to get dinner.

The former shortstop had lost contact with most of the team over the years. The only ones he still saw on a regular basis were Okada and Yufune. They had opened a salon a few blocks away from where he lived so they got together every once in a while for drinks. Kawato-sensei was still teaching at Futagotamagawa, reforming another generation of punks. But, being Kawato of course, he didn't have much free time. The others he had lost track of somewhere along the way, either they got too busy or someone moved away. And while the guys from work were great, it just wasn't the same. Hiyama reached the food display and looked over the premade meals. He must have really been feeling particularly nostalgic because even these brought back memories of his former teammates. How Sekikawa would always try to sneak his vegetables into Mikoshiba's lunch, and Shinjo's unnatural hatred of onions. He himself had always gotten fried noodles.

'What the hell, why not' Hiyama thought, and picked them up. Also grabbing a soda, he made his way to the front counter, idly wondering what his old friends were up to now. It was then that he noticed that the person looking though the next isle looked awfully familiar. Almost like…

"Wakana." It wasn't a question. Hiyama would recognize his best friend anywhere.

"Eh?" The other turned around questioningly and soon his eyes widened with recognition. "Hiyama."

Neither said anything for a while, both were too surprised to speak. The first thing Hiyama noticed was that Wakana's hair was shorter. It seemed foreign on him, especially given how much pride the other man had taken in it when they were younger. But he supposed that the slicked-back hoodlum look wasn't very popular with employers. The second thing to be noticed was that he was in a suit. It was yet another thing seemingly out of place on his childhood friend, but even still, Hiyama had to admit that he looked good. It made him feel a little self conscious. His own hair had actually gotten longer and was currently up in a messy half ponytail. Not to mention he was still in his work clothes so he had on grungy coveralls and smelled like fish from the plant. Feeling somewhat awkward, he was glad when Wakana broke the silence first.

"Shit man! I haven't seen you in forever! How've you been? Do you live around here? You look great!" And just like that, it was as if they never parted ways. Wakana was as lively as Hiyama remembered, still with that same smile that hid a shade of mischievous charm that never failed to make him feel both reassured and nervous at the same time.

"Slow down moron, why ask questions if you don't even wait for an answer? But, yeah, I've been pretty good, I live about 2 blocks from here. And most importantly, don't I always look good?" At this Wakana gave a small snort. "Anyways, what brought you back to town? If you're staying for a while we should go grab a few drinks together. Yufune and Okada will be pretty psyched to see you too."

"Sure, that sounds great. I just got transferred back for work so it'll take a little while to get settled in but I'll definitely look forward to it." The two men exchanged contact information and after a brief awkward pause, parted ways.

Finally entering his apartment, Hiyama let out a sigh and leaned against his door. He certainly hadn't expected to see Wakana, and having it happen so suddenly had left him a little dumbfounded. Not to mention the distinct increase of his pulse that he felt upon recognizing his former friend. That's not to say it was anything new, his blood had always seemed to run a bit faster around his old teammate, but now he was familiar with what it meant. Attraction. And that just made things much more problematic then they needed to be. Hiyama was a direct, simple type of person. He didn't like hiding things or putting off confrontation, but he'd have to ignore the crush? Infatuation? Lust? Whatever it was he felt for Wakana if he wanted them to spend time together again. And he really did, plutonicly or not, he missed having his best friend beside him. Besides, knowing his old friend's quick temper, he probably wouldn't appreciate being hit on by a man. Even if he didn't react violently, chances were that he wasn't into dudes, and then things would just be too awkward to be salvageable.

"Fuck, this is going to be interesting."


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't until a few years after high school that Hiyama realized he was gay. Women had never appealed to him much, but he feigned interest, believing that he'd eventually get what all the fuss was about. He even tried dated a woman once, and even though he didn't mind being with her, he never really felt the need to go out of his way to see her. Not to mention that the sex was mechanical at best. As with all his other experiences when interacting with the other gender, (not including Yagi, of whom he still regarded with a brotherly fondness) he seemed to simply be going through the motions rather than actually being involved.

Then he met Eiji. He was tall, lanky and perpetually laid-back, with a subtle curl at the ends of his ear-length hair. They had been introduced though a mutual friend and got along immediately. It wasn't long before they were seeing each other almost every day. Eiji had a way of spreading his care-free attitude to those around him, and Hiyama enjoyed the comfortable, organic kind of friendship he offered. They were in the middle of a movie marathon when Eiji first leaned over and kissed him. It was just a quick, chaste meeting of lips, but it was like finally waking up. He was felt hyper-aware of everything. The solid presence at his side, warm and lean; the slight tickle of the other man's hair near his temples, and the thin, slightly dry lips pressed against his. And for the first time in his life, he craved more.

After that they started dating, but after a few months it was apparent they were better off as friends and mutually decided to break up. Currently, he was casually seeing a young college student who worked at the coffee shop down the street. It was Saturday morning and said student was sleeping curled around Hiyama's waist while he flipped though a magazine. His phone went off, and seeing that it was Wakana, he answered.

"Hey, you awake?" Wakana's voice sounded a bit winded, as if he had just gone running.

"I answered the phone didn't I?"

"Don't be a dick. Anyways, are you busy right now? I need some help moving stuff in." By now, the long haired man's bedmate had stopped dozing and was looking at him with a questioning expression. Looking away, he replied, "Uh, yea, sure, I'll be right over" and hung up.

"You said we'd go to Shibuya today." Hiyama looked back to the now disgruntled young man at his left. With a sigh, he pulled the other in for a kiss in a half-hearted attempt to make amends. Oftentimes he got the feeling that his partner wanted more from their relationship, but neither pressed the issue.

"Sorry Atsuro, something came up. Next time-I'll make it up to you, I promise" Hearing this seemed to placate the student a bit. And he backed up slightly, allowing the older of the two to get up and throw on some clothes.

After dressing, he grabbed a few rice balls from the fridge and poked his head back into the bedroom to remind Atsuro to lock the door when he went home.

A few blocks and a short train later, Hiyama arrived at the address texted to his phone. Wakana was sitting on a couch placed crookedly on the sidewalk with a bottle of water in his hand. Other large belongings were strewn around in an equally hazardous manner.

"How could you get all of this here, but not in the house?" There was no sign of a moving truck.

"Well, about that- somehow, the company I hired only does pickups and drop offs, they actually don't help you move anything in." The sheepish grin on the shorter male's face was enough to dispel most of Hiyama's annoyance at hearing that, but he couldn't help casting a bemused look at the mess blocking the sidewalk.

"Only you, Wakana. Only you would end up in this predicament." With a sigh, he moved toward a particularly heavy looking cabinet. He stationed himself at one end and gave a pointed look to his companion. The former catcher got the cue and found a grip on the other end of the furniture.

"No way, they're still in business, aren't they? It's not my fault their advertisements are misleading. Besides, they were the cheapest company I could find." They began carrying the cabinet inside, where Hiyama could see the boxes and smaller objects already brought in on the floor. He pondered vaguely what would be inside them. Did his old teammate still keep all sorts of knickknacks? Had he grown out of reading comic books? Did he still have his catcher's mitt?

"Of course it was less expensive; they're only doing half the work. Where does this go anyways?" Wakana nodded in the direction of the far wall. They continued bickering until everything was in the house and more or less where it should be. Exhausted, they collapsed on the newly arranged sofa. Looking over at the other man, he couldn't help but notice his friend's flushed face, or the sheen of sweat that had collected along the column of his neck. Nor could Hiyama stop himself from wondering if this is what Wakana would look like just after sex.

Quickly, he dispelled the thought with a shake of his head. No. He shouldn't be thinking about that. There's no point in wanting what you can't have. With new determination, he looked back at the source of his internal struggle only to find him looking at him with concern.

"Are you ok? You look a little out of it. Do you want me to go get you some water?" Not waiting for a reply, Wakana got up to fetch a bottle. Hiyama took this time to refocus his thoughts. When the shorter man came back, he sat on the couch again, but this time a little closer. They sat in silence for a moment when he blurted out; "You know, I'm glad you're still around. I was actually a bit worried about coming back. A lot of things have changed real fast recently, but seeing you again kinda makes things seem more normal. Everything just makes a little more sense, I guess."

Hiyama was stunned. How were you supposed to reply to that? He didn't know how Wakana had been doing right before moving, so it's not like he knew what to say that would make the shorter haired man feel better. Nor was he good with words.

He settled for the truth.

"I'm glad you came back too."

Ok, this is the last of what I have written so we'll see when I can get more done. And don't worry about the OCs, I promise they won't be involved in the story unless it's for a good reason.


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